‘Nashville’ Season 5 Premiere Proves Successful for CMT

The ratings for the Season 5 premiere of Nashvilleare in, and while the numbers are modest by network standards, it proved to be a huge success for CMT.

TVLine reports that across its multiple airings on networks including CMT, Encore and Nick @Nite, Nashville generated a 0.8 demo rating across the 18-49 demographic, marking a 0.10 decrease from the Season 4 finale on its original ABC home. However, the show drew big ratings as compared with other CMT programming, scoring a 0.5 and bringing in almost 2 million viewers total. Its premiere on CMT premiere garnered 1.2 million viewers alone, making it the highest original premiere on the network since Redneck Island in 2012.

By comparison, Nashville's Season 4 finale, which was its final episode on ABC, generated a viewership of 4.2 million among its key demographic.

Nashville Stars Who Could Become Country Stars

Following its cancellation on ABC, Nashville was picked up by CMT due to fans' passion for the show. It was up in the air whether or not the show's leading lady, Connie Britton -- who plays country superstar Rayna Jaymes -- was planning to stay on the show for the duration of season 5. She confirmed on the Ellen Degeneres Show on Friday (Jan. 6) that she is in fact staying on board for the 22-episode season.

With a new network comes new show runners, as Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick have taken over the helm in Season 5. They've collectively produced the TV series My So-Called Life and thirtysomething in addition to the film, The Last Samurai.